BARBET DE JOUY (Joseph Henry) - Lot 233

BARBET DE JOUY (Joseph Henry) Canteleu, 1812 - Paris, 1896. Archaeologist, curator and administrator of national museums. Elected to the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1880. L.A.S. "JH Barbet de Jouy" addressed to a gentleman. Aubin (Aveyron), October 11, 1857. 1 page three-quarters in-8. Interesting autograph letter concerning the furnishing of a Paris apartment and the organization of interior work. In Aubin, where he is staying with his brother on his return from a trip, Barbet de Jouy acknowledges receipt of a letter concerning the apartment he is to occupy: "...I have a plan of the apartment I will occupy in your house...". He specifies that he has informed a certain Mr. Trouillet of the desired arrangements for the service staircase, and announces his imminent return to Paris to personally supervise the progress of the work: "...I will immediately place myself at his disposal as well as yours, so as to avoid any delay in the completion of the work". A charming account of the private and material life of a future administrator of the French national museums, revealing the installation and planning concerns of a man of letters and culture during the Second Empire. A beautiful letter, courteous and practical in tone, entirely autographed and signed. Curator of the Musée du Louvre from 1852 to 1863, then administrator of the French National Museums from 1879 to 1881, Joseph Henry Barbet de Jouy played a major role in the organization of French collections and the development of museography in the 19th century.